Feeding mechanism for printing presses



H. ODELL FEEDING MECHANISM F OB. PRINTING PRESSES Filed April 30 2 Sheets-Sheet rEl H. ODELL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR-PRINTING PRESSES Aug. 25, 1925.

2 sheets-sneed 2 Filed April 30. 1924 WM kw Patented Aug. 25, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY ODELL, 0F PRESTONIA, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR TO THE ODELL FEEDER COM- PANY, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, A CURPORATION 0F KENTUCKY.

FEEDING- MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

Application led April 30, 1924. Serial No. 716,126.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY ODnLL, a c1t1- Zen of the United States, and resident of Prestonia, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism for Printing Presses, of which the following is a specication.

In my prior application, Serial Number 686,846, I disclosed a card feeding mecha nism for power embossing presses consist ing of a plurality of card carriers mounted on an intermittently rotatable shaft and adapted, by intermittent rotation of said shaft, to be moved successively into operative relation to a die printing mechanism, thereby to provide for the rapid and accurate feeding of cards thereto. Each card carrier was provided with stops for positioning the cards to be printed, and with clips for retaining the cards properly positioned against said stops, but the clips were not adjustable and adjustments of the stops had to be effected individually. It is my present purpose, therefore, to provide improvements in my prior feeding mechanism whereby both the clips and stops of each carrier may be adjusted simultaneously, thereby to provide for increased rapidity and accuracy in the feeding of cards to adie printing mechanism, and to reduce to a minimum the amount of time required to secure accurate adjustments for engraved plates that are not exactly true.

Vith the foregoing and other purposes in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views Figure 1 is a top plan view of a card feeding mechanism embodying the novel and essential features of my invention;

Figure 2, a central transverse section through the mechanism;

Figure 3, a side elevation;

Figure 4, an enlarged detail section on the line 4 4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5, an enlarged detail section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6, an enlarged detail section on the line 6-6 of Figure 1; and

Figure 7, a detail perspective of one of the adjustable clip carrying bars.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, 10 designates a suitable base plate secured in any suitable manner, as, for instance, by means of a taper pin 11, to a shaft 12 for rotation therewith, and aliixed to said base plate, as, for example, by screws 13, also for rotation with said shaft is a horizontally disposed plate 14, provided in this instance with four runways 15 within each of which is arranged a card or article carrier in the form of a slide 16.

The run-ways 15 radiate from shaft 12 at intervals of 90O and the slides 16, which are radially movable through said run-ways, are guided in such movement by inturned flanges 17, 17 rising from the plate 14, each pair of flanges forming a pair of grooves within which opposite edges of the respective slides operate, said flanges and grooves, while permitting free radial movement of the slides, serving to hold them firmly against all other movements with respect to plate 14.

To the under face of each slide 16 is secured a lug 18 and engaged through each lug is a threaded shaft 19, said shafts being four in number, one for each slide, and being held against longitudinal movement by means of spaced collars thereon operating against opposite sides of lugs rising from the base plate 10, as shown at 20 in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. On the inner end of each shaft is afixed a bevel gear 21 and meshing with said bevel gears is a master gear 22 by means of which all gears 21 may be rotated in unison thereby to rotate the shafts 19 in unison and, because of the threaded c'onnee tions of said shafts with the slides 16, simultaneously move said slides radially inward or outward as desired.

The master gear 22 is rotatably mounted on an upper end portion of shaft 12 that extends through and above the base plate 10, and is provided with a squared boss 23 for engagement within a similarly shaped recess in a knurled cap 24 which provides a hand grip device for conveniently rotating the master gear to effect the aforesaid adjustments of the slides.

Thus, in view of the foregoing it is manifest that when the shaft 12 is stationary, radial adjustments of the slides 16 with respect to the base plate 10 and plate 14 may be effected as desired simply by turning the cap 24 to rotate the master gear and the respective shafts 19, while on the other hand, due to the fact that the base plate 10 and plate 14 are secured to the shaft 12, the slides will be turned with said shaft whenever the latter is rotated, but their radial adjustment as effected by the master gear will not be disturbed during such rotation.

Shaft 12 is adapted to be mounted on a printing press adjacent to the die printing mechanism of the press, and is adapted for connection in any desired manner with a movable part of the press whereby it is rotated intermittently to move the slides 16 successively into feeding relation to the die printing mechanism, all as disclosed in detail in my aforementioned prior application 686,346.

Mounted for rotation in suitable bearing blocks 25 on the upper face of each slide 16 is a threaded shaft 26 having fixed thereto a bevel gear 27 and having` threaded thereon a stop device 28. Said shafts are disposed preferably parallel to lthe outer edges of the slides 16 respectively and are held against longitudinal or endwise movement in any .suitable manner, so that the stop devices 28, due to their threaded connections with said shafts, are moved across the slides when the shafts are rotated, the direction of movement of the stop devices depending of course upon the direction in which the shafts 26 are rotated.

Also mounted for rotation in a suitable bearing block or blocks 29 on each slide is another shaft 30 having affixed thereto a bevel gear 31 that meshes with the bevel gear 27 of the related shaft 26, whereby rotation of the shafts 30 effect rotation of the shafts 26 as is obvious.

To rotate the shafts 30 in unison, thereby to rotate the shafts 26 in unison and effect simultaneous adjustments of the stop devices 28, a bevel gear 32 is keyed to each shaft 30, and all of said gears 32 are placed in mesh with a ring gear 33, which latter is mounted for rotation in a suitable circular housing or support 34 secured in any preferred manner, as by means of its legs 35, to the plate 14. Thus, by rotating the ring gear, unitary rotation of the various shafts 26 and 30, and consequently simultaneous adjustment of the stop devices 28, is effected. To rotate the ring gear, a bevel gear 36 is placed in mesh therewith at a suitable point and the shaft 37 on which said bevel gear is mounted is extended outwardly of the housing or support 34 and provided at its outer end with a knurled hand wheel 38.

In order to permit radial adjustments of the slides 16 by rotating the master gear 22 as aforementioned, the shafts 30 are provided with elongated key-ways 39 within which the keys of the bevel gears 32 operate, the gears being held against movement with respect to the housing 34 by being disposed between downwardly extending ears on the housing in which the shafts 30 are journaled.

A second stop device in the form of a bar 40 is provided on each slide 16, and to each bar is secured a clip or clips 41 for holding a card to be printed with one edge engaged against said bar and an adjacent edge engaged against stop device 28. The bars 40 are disposed transversely across the slides 16, respectively, and at or near their ends adj acent to their related stop devices 28, are pivoted as at 42 to the respective slides 16 whereby they may be angularly adjusted so as to properly position cards to be printed with respect to engraved plates that are not exactly true.

On the free end of each bar 40 is a threaded lug 43 and mounted for rotation in a bearing block 44 on each slide is a shaft 45 having threaded connection at its outer end with the lug 43 of its related bar 40. rThe shafts 45 extend parallel or substantially parallel to the shafts 3() and are rotatable, but are held against longitudinal movement relative to the respective slides by means of collars thereon engaging opposite faces of their bearing blocks 44. Thus by rotating a shaft 45 angular adjustments, due to the threaded connection of said shaft with its related lug 43, are imparted to the related bar 4() as well as to the clips 41 carried thereby. To allow for accurate movement of the hars 40 loose threaded connections are provided between the shafts and the lugs 43.

In addition to being supported by a bearing block 44, each shaft 45 also is supported by a bearing block 46 mounted on the plate 14 and extends through an opening in another bearing block 47 one of which is mounted on the plate 14 adjacent to each block 46. Rotatably mounted on a spindle 48 at the upper end of each block 47 is a spur gear 49, and formed inteOral with or aiiixed in any suitable manner to each 0f said spur gears is a bevel gear 50 which latter mesh, respectively, with bevel gears 51 lteyed to the respective shafts 45. Accordingly, when the bevel gears 50 are rotated, corresponding rotation is imparted to the bevel gears 51 and through the latter to the shafts 45 whereby adjustments as aforementioned are imparted to the bars 40, the keys of the bevel gears 51 operating within elongated key-ways 52 in the shafts 45 whereby the slides 16 may be projected and retracted without disturbing the rela` tion between the gears 50, 51

All of the spur gears 49 are meshed with a ring gear 53 supported by the housing 34,

so that by rotating said ring gear all shafts 45 are rotated and consequently simultaneous and equal adjustments of all bars 40 are affected, one of the spur gears being provided with a knurled finger grip extension 54 as a means of conveniently rotating the ring gear, which latter, as shown in detail in Figure 5 of the drawings, is supported for rotation within the housing 34 by pins 55 projecting from lugs on the housing.

As set forth in my prior application 686,346 the shaft l2 is adapted to be intermittently rotated to dispose the slides 16 successively in feeding relation to the die printing mechanism of a printing press, it being understood, of course, that the cards or other articles to be printed are engaged under the clips 41 with their adjacent edges against the stop devices 2S and bars 40, prior to the slides being moved into feeding relation to the print-ing mechanism, to properly position them for printing, and as is obvious, by adjusting the slides inward or outward by means of the master gear 22, and by adjusting the stops 28 and stop bars 40 as aforementioned proper positioning of the cards on the slides for accurate printing may be effected regardless of whether the die of the printing mechanism is true or whether it is accurately positioned with respect to the printing mechanism. Furthermore, due to the arrangements herein disclosed, adjustments of the stop devices may be effected accurately and in a minimum amount of time.

l. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, an adjustable article stop on each carrier, and means connecting a plurality of said article stops effective to adjust them simultaneously with respect to said carriers.

2. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, an adjustable article retaining clip on each carrier, and means connecting a plurality of said article retaining clips effective to adjust them simultaneously with respect to said carriers.

3. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, a bodily adjustable article stop on each carrier, and means connecting a plurality of said article stops effective to bodily adjust them simultaneously.

4. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, an article stop pivoted to each carrier, and connecting means between a plurality of said pivoted article stops effective to pivotally adjust them simultaneously.

5. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising, in combination with a plurality of adjustable article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, and means for adjusting them equal amounts simultaneously to vary their relation to the printing mechanism; an adjustable article stop on each carrier, and connecting means between the article stops of a plurality of said carriers effective to adjust them simultaneously.

6. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising, in combination with a plurality of adjustable article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, and means for adjusting them equal amounts simultaneously to vary their relation to the printing mechanism; an adjustable article retaining clip on each carrier, and connecting means between the clips of a plurality of said carriers effective to adjust them simultaneously.

7 Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising, in combination with a plurality of article carriers adjustable radially towards and from a common center to vary their relation to a printing mechanism with respect to which they are adapted to be moved successively into operative relation, and means for radially adjusting them equal amounts simultaneously; article positioning' and article retaining devices on each carrier, and independent means one of which is common to all of said positioning devices and the other common to all of said retaining devices selectively elfective to adjust their associated devices simultaneously.

8. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, an adjustable article stop on each carrier, a shaft on each carrier having threaded connection with the article stop thereon, and means common to the shafts of all of the carriers effective to rotate them simultaneouslty, thereby to adjust all of said article stops simultaneously.

9. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of article carriers adapted to bev moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, a pivoted article stop on each carrier, a shaft on each carrier having threaded connection with the pivoted article stop thereon, and means common to the shafts of all of the carriers effective to rotate them simultaneously, thereby to pivotally adjust all of said article stops simultaneously.

10. Feeding mechanism for printing preis comprising a plurality of article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, an adjust-able article stop on each carrier, and a single member common to a stop of each of said carriers effective to adjust them simultaneously With respect to said carriers.

11. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, an adjustable article stop on each carrier, a member on each carrier having adjustable connection with the article stop thereon, a single operator common to the members of all carriers effective to move them simultaneously, thereby to effect adjustments of a stop of each carrier simultaneously, and means for moving said operator.

12. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of article carriers radiating from a common center and adapted to be rotated about said center successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, an article stop on each carrier, and a ring gear having an operative con nection with a stop of each carrier whereby rotation of said gear effects adjustments of a stop of each carrier simultaneously, and means for rotating said ring gear.

13. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of adjustable article carriers adapted to be moved suecessively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, means for simultaneously adjusting said carriers, an adjustable article stop on each carrier, and means for simultaneously adjusting a plurality of said article stops when the carriers are at rest.

14. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of adjustable article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, means for simultaneously adjusting said carriers, an adjustable article stop on each carrier, and means independent of said first mentioned means for adjusting a plurality of said article stops simultaneously.

15. Feeding mechanismA for printing presses comprising a plurality of adjustable article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, means for simultaneously adjusting said carriers, an article stop on said carrier adjustable with respect thereto, and means for so adjusting said article stops in any adjusted position of said carriers.

16. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of adjustable article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing neehanisn'i, means for simultaneously adjusting said carriers, an adjustable article retaining clip "ion each carrier, and means for simultaneously adjusting a plurality of said article retaining clips When the carriers are at rest.

17. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of adjustable article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, means for simultaneously adjusting said carriers, an adjustable article retaining clip on each carrier, and means independent of said first mentioned means for adjusting a plurality of said article retaining clips simultaneously.

18. Feeding mechanism for printing presses comprising a plurality of adjustable article carriers adapted to be moved successively into feeding relation to a printing mechanism, means for simultaneously adjusting said carriers, an article retaining clip on each carrier adjustable With respect thereto, and means for so adjusting said article retaining clips in any adjusted position of said carriers.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiix my signature.

HARRY ODELL. 

